Ivan lived a pleasant life, attending law school, being in the company of high society. He did some things that he questioned at first, for the acts made him feel a bit disgraceful. He saw that the same acts did not bother other men, and therefore put them out of his mind. He never questioned himself why these acts were distasteful, or why these men weren't hounded by their inner voices of shame. He went along in life not taking anything from it to learn and to prosper as a good person.

After graduating law school, he sowed "his wild oats", as Tolstoy puts it, among an aristocratic society. He moved up in rank and earned a raise in salary. This new power, although not taken advantage of, was accessible in Ilyitch's eyes, and hence the mere thought of corruption existed as a tool for possible future use. He married, not because of love, but because he felt it would be an asse

Ivan expressed bad faith by blaming his condition on God. He asks why He has put him in this position, and what he ever did to deserve this agony. His own soul began to offer some answers by questioning his past life. He began to review the events in his life from childhood on. Now these memories held a different meaning to him, for they don't seem as pleasant as he thought they were at the time. He began to realize how life just went by without contributing anything to it to make it important. He was merely an inactive participant in a game where nobody wins, for we all end up the same -- dead. The way to make life virtuous and good is to participate in it to the fullest extent possible. The world is an oyster, and we must use all resources to our advantage within reasonability as to not to take for granted our short existence. Ivan is now aware of death's inevitability and realizes perhaps he didn't put as much into life as he had thought he did. Although he dismisses those thoughts shortly after, he cannot deny that he had those thought at all. This recognition of death scares him for he knows it is coming. In turn, the review of his life is the process of rectification.

Once near his last days, he holds onto a non-Stoic attitude by not wanting to die yet. His inner voice speaks to him and tells him how not only is he trying to hide from death, but he hid from life also. In this realization he

Some common words found in the essay are:
Ivan Ilyitch, Name Father, , law school, own death, questioned acts, family life, past life, accept role,
Approximate Word count = 958
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)